“L-E-T-S-G-O, GO, VIKINGS, GO!” The sound of cheers and stomps echo throughout the stadium. Girls in red and white uniforms dance on the sidelines, pom poms and bows sparkling as they hype up the crowd, rallying support for the Vikings’ basketball teams. Chants and routines like this are what the Mills High School cheerleading team has been practicing for weeks. As we get deeper into the winter sports season and more competitions approach, these 19 girls have been preparing tirelessly to polish their routines to perfection for upcoming games.
It started with an evaluation. The girls were judged and selected by cheer Coach Nicki Moreno through a series of tryouts in November. Returning cheerleader Vicky Wu (10) shared the process, describing how it worked. “Tryouts were multiple days throughout the week for the coach to observe,” she stated. “We learned a few different cheers and a dance to show what we would bring to the team.” This was a new concept for many participating students, specifically those who had never cheered before or didn’t participate in cheer during the fall football season. However, a couple girls were comfortable during these tryouts. One of these was Cheer Captain Lily Aidi (12). “Since I am a returner, I wasn’t worried about making the team,” she said. “I was there more to help out incoming freshmen or new girls trying out for the team.”
As for once they were admitted onto the squad, the girls conditioned, tried and practiced new skills, and more. “To prepare for games, we go over cheers and memorization of the 30 plus cheers we call,” Aidi explained. “We also learn a halftime dance throughout the week and practice new stunts to perform.” She went on to describe their typical pre-game day routines where they “meet early to stretch and warm up” followed by running through their cheer moves or performance. “Then we cheer on the sidelines for the entire game with dances during timeouts or new quarters starting,” she finished.
The girls have many hopes, ambitions, and expectations for the season. Wu commented, “I’m most excited for our halftime performances,” mentioning how audiences have really looked forward to the cheer shows during games’ breaks in the past. Aidi shared, “I think this season our team is a lot bigger than previous years! It will make our stunts a lot stronger because we can do more things like flips in the air, pyramids, etc.”
With over half the season ahead of them still, the squad keeps up their hard work, hyping up both the crowd and basketball players with their positivity, dances, and tricks. The Thunderbolt wishes them good luck as they continue to instill all with hope, motivation, and most importantly cheer.
